CWT (company)
CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a travel management company that manages business travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, and handles event management.
Formerly | Carlson Wagonlit Travel |
---|---|
Privately held company | |
Industry | Travel management company |
Founded | 1994 |
Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
Area served | 145 countries |
Key people | Kurt Ekert, CEO |
Services | Corporate travel management, Event management |
Revenue | US$1.5 billion |
Owner | Carlson |
Number of employees | 18,000 |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [1] |
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company reported US$23 billion in total transaction volume in 2018.[1] It is ranked 5th on the list of top earning travel companies published by Travel Weekly.[2]
History
The group has existed in its present form since 1994, the result of a 50%/50% merger of two large travel agencies: the Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency chain, later called Carlson Travel Network, and the travel agency of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (literally sleeping car), founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1872 in Belgium and later acquired by Accor.[3]
On April 27, 2006, Accor announced the sale of its 50% interest in CWT: 5% to Carlson and 45% to One Equity Partners, an affiliate of JP Morgan Chase.[4]
On June 22, 2014, Carlson, which owned a 55% stake in CWT, agreed to acquire the 45% interest in CWT held by JPMorgan Chase.[5][6][7]
In July 2017, the company launched RoomIt by CWT, dedicated to hotel distribution.[8][9]
On February 18, 2019, the company announced that it was rebranding as CWT.[10]
References
- "CWT at a glance".
- "Power List 2019". Travel Weekly.
- Biesiada, Jamie (February 21, 2019). "CWT scrubs Carlson and Wagonlit from name". Travel Weekly.
- "Accor Divests Stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Hospitality Net. 27 April 2006.
- "Carlson Announces It Will Take Full Ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Business Wire. June 22, 2014.
- Phelps, David (March 5, 2015). "Carlson board sharpens its focus". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- King, Danny (June 23, 2014). "Carlson to take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel". Travel Weekly.
- "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division dedicated to hotels – RoomIt by CWT". CWT (Press release). July 17, 2017.
- Chaturvedi, Anumeha (July 17, 2017). "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division RoomIt dedicated to hotels". The Times of India.
- "CWT is the New Name in Digital Business Travel, Hotel Distribution, and Meetings & Events". CWT (Press release). February 18, 2019.